Protocol to the 1979 Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution concerning the Control of Emissions of Volatile Organic Compounds or their Transboundary Fluxes

"Convention" means the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution, adopted in Geneva on 13 November 1979;

"EMEP" means the Cooperative Programme for Monitoring and Evaluation of the Longrange Transmission of Air Pollutants in Europe;

"Executive Body'' means the Executive Body for the Convention constituted under article 10, paragraph 1, of the Convention;

"Geographical scope of EMEP" means the area defined in article 1, paragraph 4, of the Protocol to the 1979 Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution on Long-term Financing of the Cooperative Programme for Monitoring and Evaluation of the Long-range Transmission of Air Pollutants in Europe (EMEP), adopted in Geneva on 28 September 1984;

"Tropospheric ozone management area" (TOMA) means an area specified in annex I under conditions laid down in article 2, paragraph 2 (b);

"Parties'' means, unless the context otherwise requires, the Parties to the present Protocol;

"Commission" means the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe;

"Critical levels" means concentrations of pollutants in the atmosphere for a specified exposure time below which direct adverse effects on receptors, such as human beings, plants, ecosystems or materials do not occur according to present knowledge;

"Volatile organic compounds'', or "VOCs'', means, unless otherwise specified, all organic compounds of anthropogenic nature, other than methane, that are capable of producing photochemical oxidants by reactions with nitrogen oxides in the presence of sunlight;

"Major source category" means any category of sources which emit air pollutants in the form of VOCs, including the categories described in annexes II and III, and which contribute at least 1 per cent of the total national emissions of VOCs on an annual basis, as measured or calculated in the first calendar year after the date of entry into force of the present Protocol, and every fourth year thereafter;

"New stationary source" means any stationary source of which the construction or substantial modification is commenced after the expiry of two years from the date of entry into force of the present Protocol;

"New mobile source" means any on-road motor vehicle which is manufactured after the expiry of two years from the date of entry into force of the present Protocol;

"Photochemical ozone creation potential" (POCP) means the potential of an individual VOC, relative to that of other VOCs, to form ozone by reaction with oxides of nitrogen in the presence of sunlight, as described in annex IV.

The Parties shall control and reduce their emissions of VOCs in order to reduce their transboundary fluxes and the fluxes of the resulting secondary photochemical oxidant products so as to protect human health and the environment from adverse effects.

Each Party shall, in order to meet the requirements of paragraph 1 above, control and reduce its national annual emissions of VOCs or their transboundary fluxes in any one of the following ways to be specified upon signature:

In carrying out their obligations under this article, Parties are invited to give highest priority to reduction and control of emissions of substances with the greatest POCP, taking into consideration the information contained in annex IV.

In implementing the present Protocol, and in particular any product substitution measures, Parties shall take appropriate steps to ensure that toxic and carcinogenic VOCs, and those that harm the stratospheric ozone layer, are not substituted for other VOCs.

The Parties shall, as a second step, commence negotiations, no later than six months after the date of entry into force of the present Protocol, on further steps to reduce national annual emissions of volatile organic compounds or transboundary fluxes of such emissions and their resulting secondary photochemical oxidant products, taking into account the best available scientific and technological developments, scientifically determined critical levels and internationally accepted target levels, the role of nitrogen oxides in the formation of photochemical oxidants and other elements resulting from the work programme undertaken under article 5.

To this end, the Parties shall cooperate in order to establish:

In the course of these negotiations, the Parties shall consider whether it would be appropriate for the purposes specified in paragraph 1 to supplement such further steps with measures to reduce methane.

Measures required by the present Protocol shall not relieve Parties from their other obligations to take measures to reduce total gaseous emissions that may contribute significantly to climate change, to the formation of tropospheric background ozone or to the depletion of stratospheric ozone, or that are toxic or carcinogenic.

Parties may take more stringent measures than those required by the present Protocol.

The Parties shall establish a mechanism for monitoring compliance with the present Protocol. As a first step based on information provided pursuant to article 8 or other information, any Party which has reason to believe that another Party is acting or has acted in a manner inconsistent with its obligations under this Protocol may inform the Executive Body to that effect and, simultaneously, the Parties concerned. At the request of any Party, the matter may be taken up at the next meeting of the Executive Body.

The Parties shall, consistent with their national laws, regulations and practices, facilitate the exchange of technology to reduce emissions of VOCs, particularly through the promotion of:

In promoting the activities specified in paragraph 1 of this article, the Parties shall create favourable conditions by facilitating contacts and cooperation among appropriate organizations and individuals in the private and public sectors that are capable of providing technology, design and engineering services, equipment or finance.

The Parties shall, no later than six months after the date of entry into force of the present Protocol, commence consideration of procedures to create more favourable conditions for the exchange of technology to reduce emissions of VOCs.

Identify and quantify effects of emissions of VOCs, both anthropogenic and biogenic, and photochemical oxidants on human health, the environment and materials;

Determine the geographical distribution of sensitive areas;

Develop emission and air quality monitoring and model calculations including methodologies for the calculation of emissions, taking into account, as far as possible, the different VOC species, both anthropogenic and biogenic, and their reactivity, to quantify the long-range transport of VOCs, both anthropogenic and biogenic, and related pollutants involved in the formation of photochemical oxidants;

Improve estimates of the performance and costs of technologies for control of emissions of VOCs and record the development of improved and new technologies;

Develop, within the context of the approach based on critical levels, methods to integrate scientific, technical and economic data in order to determine appropriate rational strategies for limiting VOC emissions and obtain overall cost-effectiveness to achieve agreed objectives;

Improve the accuracy of inventories of emissions of VOCs, both anthropogenic and biogenic, and harmonize the methods of their calculation or estimation;

Improve their understanding of the chemical processes involved in the creation of photochemical oxidants;

Identify possible measures to reduce emissions of methane.

The Parties shall regularly review the present Protocol, taking into account the best available scientific substantiation and technological development.

The first review shall take place no later than one year after the date of entry into force of the present Protocol.

The Parties shall exchange information by notifying the Executive Body of the national programmes, policies and strategies that they develop in accordance with article 7, and by reporting to it progress achieved under, and any changes to, those programmes, policies and strategies. In the first year after entry into force of this Protocol, each Party shall report on the level of emissions of VOCs in its territory and any TOMA in its territory, by total and, to the extent feasible, by sector of origin and by individual VOC, according to guidelines to be specified by the Executive Body for 1988 or any other year taken as the base year for article 2.2 and on the basis upon which these levels have been calculated.

Furthermore each Party shall report annually:

In addition, Parties within the geographical scope of EMEP shall report, at intervals to be specified by the Executive Body, information on VOC emissions by sector of origin, with a spatial resolution, to be specified by the Executive Body, appropriate for purposes of modelling the formation and transport of secondary photochemical oxidant products.

Such information shall, as far as possible, be submitted in accordance with a uniform reporting framework.

Any Party may propose amendments to the present Protocol.

Proposed amendments shall be submitted in writing to the Executive Secretary of the Commission, who shall communicate them to all Parties. The Executive Body shall discuss the proposed amendments at its next annual meeting, provided that those proposals have been circulated by the Executive Secretary to the Parties at least 90 days in advance.

Amendments to the Protocol, other than amendments to its annexes, shall be adopted by consensus of the Parties present at a meeting of the Executive Body, and shall enter into force for the Parties which have accepted them on the ninetieth day after the date on which two thirds of the Parties have deposited their instruments of acceptance thereof. Amendments shall enter into force for any Party which has accepted them after two thirds of the Parties have deposited their instruments of acceptance of the amendment, on the ninetieth day after the date on which that Party deposited its instrument of acceptance of the amendments.

Amendments to the annexes shall be adopted by consensus of the Parties present at a meeting of the Executive Body and shall become effective 30 days after the date on which they have been communicated, in accordance with paragraph 5 of this article.

Amendments under paragraphs 3 and 4 of this article shall, as soon as possible after their adoption, be communicated by the Executive Secretary to all Parties.

The present Protocol shall be open for signature at Geneva from 18 November 1991 until 22 November 1991 inclusive, then at the United Nations Headquarters in New York until 22 May 1992, by the States members of the Commission as well as States having consultative status with the Commission, pursuant to paragraph 8 of Economic and Social Council resolution 36 (IV) of 28 March 1947, and by regional economic integration organizations, constituted by sovereign States members of the Commission, which have competence in respect of the negotiation, conclusion and application of international agreements in matters covered by the Protocol, provided that the States and organizations concerned are Parties to the Convention.

In matters within their competence, such regional economic integration organizations shall, on their own behalf, exercise the rights and fulfil the responsibilities which the present Protocol attributes to their member States. In such cases, the member States of these organizations shall not be entitled to exercise such rights individually.

The present Protocol shall be subject to ratification, acceptance or approval by Signatories.

The present Protocol shall be open for accession as from 22 May 1992 by the States and organizations referred to in article 13, paragraph 1.

The present Protocol shall enter into force on the ninetieth day following the date on which the sixteenth instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession has been deposited.

For each State and organization referred to in article 13, paragraph 1, which ratifies, accepts or approves the present Protocol or accedes thereto after the deposit of the sixteenth instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession, the Protocol shall enter into force on the ninetieth day following the date of deposit by such Party of its instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession.